


A Rotten Rock

by Shanoodle



Category: Mother : EarthBound Zero
Genre: F/M, Feels, Romance, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-19
Updated: 2015-07-19
Packaged: 2018-04-10 01:36:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4372112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shanoodle/pseuds/Shanoodle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A bike ride with Ana turns violent and emotional.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Rotten Rock

_Ding-ding, ding-ding._

Ninten groaned and rolled over in his swing.

_Ding-ding, ding-ding._

_Go away,_  he thought.

And the dinging stopped.

_Dang, I'm good._

A hand slipped under his baseball cap and knocked it off. Ninten shot up, eyes opened, his head stopping inches from Ana's.

"Good morning, sunshine." She pecked his nose.

Retriving his hat, Ninten sat up and looked around. Ana wore a cloud-white dress and hat, and her hair was tied up in a ponytail.

"You look beautiful," he said, gazing at her.

Her cheeks reddened. "Thanks."

"So, uh . . . what's up?"

"Don't you remember? You said you wanted to ride bikes today!"

Ninten leaned to the side. Behind her sat a bright pink bike with a bell and basket attached to the handlebars.

"Oh." He straightened up. "Sorry -- guess I forgot."

"It's okay. We can still do it!"

"Well, in that case--" Ninten got to his feet. "--I'll go get my bike!"

"I don't think so." Ana gestured at his shirt, which had a fist-sized hole toward the stomach. "You're not going dressed like that."

"Aw, c'mon! It's just a hole. Nobody'll notice."

"Ninten, if I could see it, what makes you think nobody else will? Just change; it'll only take a second."

"Fine, fine," he said, hopping off the swing and running toward his house. "Be right back."

 

When he entered, Cammy -- his mother -- was sitting on the living room couch, looking at him. Gunfire and explosions blared from the speakers on their television.

"What is it, dear?" she said.

"Ana's here, and she wants to ride bikes with me," replied Ninten. "Is it cool if I go?"

"I don't see why not. Just be back by dinner. And get dressed; you look terrible."

"Thanks! I guess."

Smiling, he sped upstairs.

* * *

When Ninten left the house, Ana was sitting on the swing, petting Mick beside her. She turned toward him.

"You've barely changed at all," she said.

"That's not true!" Ninten pointed at his striped shirt. "No hole this time, see!"

She rolled her eyes. "Just get your bike, dork."

"Hmph!"

Ninten ran around to the back of the house. His bike -- blue with streaks of fire painted across it -- sat inside a small wooden shed his father had built. He pulled it out and pushed it to the front yard.

Ana jumped to her feet and climbed onto hers. "You ready?"

Ninten did the same. "You bet!"

And they took off, Ana in the lead.

The sky was clear, and Podunk's various wildlife -- including centipedes, dogs, and hippies -- lounged in the spring sunlight. Ninten smiled at the wind blowing against his face.

"So, where do you wanna go first?" he called to Ana.

"Nowhere, really. I kinda want to explore around for a bit."

"I'm down with that." The boy perked up. "We could check out that cave by the zoo!"

"The one with the rock to Magicant? Are you sure?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I? For all we know, maybe the rock's still there."

Ana hesitated, then shrugged. "It's not important. Let's go ahead and check it out."

* * *

They parked their bikes by some trees near the cave. Bits and pieces of the UFOs Ninten fought years ago laid in the grass, now homes for all sorts of insects.

"It feels weird here," Ana said, walking toward the entrance. "Sorta like a graveyard."

Ninten grinned. "You ain't scared, are you?"

"Of course not. Graveyards are cool." She looked back. "Are you scared?"

Ninten started to open his mouth, but stopped midway. What if the rock _ _was__ still there? What if it still went to Magicant? What would he find there?  _ _Would_ _ he find anything there? He hadn't thought about it before.

Ana slowed down. "You really _are_ scared."

He sighed. "A little bit, yeah."

They now walked side by side. The boy felt something tickle his mind.

"Ah, so that's why." Ana took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'm not sure what we'll find either. But I _am_ sure we'll be safe."

"I'm not worried about safety," Ninten replied, locking his fingers with hers. "I don't really know what I'm afraid of.

"And that's okay. Whatever we find, we'll find it together. 'Be strong and courageous, for the Lord will be with you wherever you go.'"

The boy's mouth curved into a small smile. "Thanks. That means a lot."

"It's no trouble. And if it's scarin' you too badly, we can always do something else."

Ninten grazed his thumb over her knuckles. "It's okay. I feel better, really."

"Alrighty. Then let's go in."

And so they did.

When Ninten had explored the cave during his adventure, the air felt warm enough to lull him to sleep. But here, it was like winter; goosebumps formed all over his arms and legs.

"It was never this cold before," the boy said, his voice echoing off the walls.

"Cold?" replied Ana. "What are you talking about? It feels great!"

"I swear, your blood's gotta be made of ice water."

Ana giggled. "How'd you know?"

A few moments later, they were walking down the path leading to the rock. And as they went, the cave became grayer and grayer.

Ninten felt an emptiness in his stomach, and he kept looking around. At any moment, something would happen. He didn't know what, or if it'd be dangerous, but it  _ _would_ _ happen.

The rock came into view. It, too, had turned gray, and cracks now covered its surface. The top part had broken off and rolled to the side, leaving a jagged hole where it used to be. Ninten had to squint to see the faded XX symbol.

They stopped in front of it. No question came.

"Should we try to talk to it?" Ana said.

Ninten gazed at the rock. His great-grandmother's song played in his mind, just as faded as the symbol. And his heart sank.

"Ninten? You okay?"

"What?" He shook his head. "Yeah, I'm good. S'pose it's worth a try."

He closed his eyes, reaching out to the rock with his mind.

_"Hello. Are you there?"_

Nothing responded.

_"Hello?"_

Again, nothing. The only other phrase that might work was one he had come to know by heart.

_"The forgotten one of the ship that sails the cosmos!"_

Ninten opened his eyes. The XX symbol flickered pink, but it stopped a few seconds later.

The boy sighed. "I don't see this happening."

"I'm sorry," Ana replied, squeezing Ninten's hand again. "But at least we know, right?"

"Yeah."

Ninten let go of her and sat against the wall. She joined him.

"What would you've done if the rock still worked?" the girl said.

"I don't know. Walk around. See if anybody lived." Ninten sniffed. "Maybe go to the castle."

They both stared at the rock. A gust of air blew around it, making Ninten shiver.

_Take a melody. . . ._

"I wish I never learned that song."

Ana took hold of Ninten's chin and wrenched his head around. Her eyes were wide.

"Don't you dare say things like that."

"I mean it, though. She's dead because of me."

The girl's nails started to dig into his skin. "If you hadn't learned that song, my mom would be dead. _All of us_ would be dead."

"I know that, but I didn't even get to know great-gramma. I don't even know if she and Mary were the same person."

"Of course she was the same person. You know that."

"That's not what I mean. Mary was really nice and smart. But I spent, what, ten seconds with Maria before she disappeared. If I never sang her that song, she could've stayed with me. At least in Magicant."

Ana let go of Ninten's chin. And promptly slapped him.

Ninten's head swung so hard it seemed like it would fly off.

Grasping his cheek, he glared at Ana. "What was that for?!"

"How could you be so selfish? Wanting to keep her alive way past her time -- letting the rest of us die."

"That's not what I said!" Ninten jumped to his feet. "You don't got a clue how this feels!"

Ana shot a glare into his eyes. "My mom was trapped in a tube for a month. She had wires coming out of her head." She joined him. "You're right; I can't understand how you feel. But I don't care. I'm not going to stand here and let you say stuff like this when my mom's life was on the line. Not to mention the rest of us."

Clenching his teeth, Ninten lunged forward and shoved Ana against the wall. But she bounced back, a spear of fire forming in her hand.

_**Ana drew near.** _

Ninten uttered a squeal, and he bolted down the path. Glancing back, he saw Ana draw her hand back, and he flopped bellyfirst onto the ground.

_**Ana tried PK Fire γ.** _

The spear soared over his head, leaving a trail of fiery shapes behind. It exploded against the wall on the opposite side, engulfing the area in flames.

Ninten leapt up and charged right through. Ana's footsteps thudded after him.

Outside, the boy climbed onto his bike and set off. Glancing back again, he saw Ana standing at the entrance. Both her hands were awash in a green glow, and they were pointing right at him.

_**Ana tried PK Beam β.** _

Ninten took a sharp turn to the right. A pair of green energy beams the size of lamp posts narrowly missed him and stuck a tree farther ahead. A bright light flashed, and when it faded, the only thing left of the tree was a crater.

"Ana, stop it!" He skidded to a stop. "This ain't helping anything!"

Ana had formed another fire spear, but she kept it lowered. Her face and the flames were the same color.

"Look, I'm. . . ." Ninten stumbled off the bike, his vision blurring. "I'm sorry! It wasn't fair of me to want something like this. You're right! It was selfish! I know it now!" He rubbed his eyes. "I just miss her!"

Ana gazed at the boy. Little by little, the color faded from her face. A moment later, she dissipated the fire spear and runs toward him.

"No, I'm sorry!"

By the time she reached him, tears were running down both their faces. She flung her arms around the boy's neck.

"I heard you say those things earlier and I just . . . I shouldn't have reacted like that!"

Ninten sniffled and held Ana close. "It was my own fault." He took a pause. "You could've killed me."

"I know. I wasn't thinking. It won't happen again, I swear. Please, can you forgive me?"

The boy leaned back, looking down at Ana. And he flashed a grin. "Only if you forgive me."

Ninten nudged her head back and smashed his mouth against hers. Their arms tightened around each other.

When they stopped kissing almost half a minute later, they were left breathless.

"I don't think we should ever come back here," Ninten said between gasps.

The girl nodded, and they let go.

"So, what now?"

Ana rubbed her arm. "I don't know, to be honest."

They looked away from each other.

"Do you wanna keep going with our bike ride?" Ninten said.

"Sure. If you want."

For a little while, they hardly spoke to each other. But by the time they reached Merrysville, they were smiling and laughing again. Ninten had to force some of it, and he suspected Ana did too. By 4:30, she left for Snowman, leaving him with a kiss.

When the boy arrived home, he sat on the swing and watched the sun start to set over the hills near Creampuff Zoo, where the cave was.

Ninten wound his fingers around the hole Ana's PK Beam had burned into his shirt. In his mind, the song of his great-grandmother echoed. He felt incredibly warm.

And he fell asleep.


End file.
